Attendees at this year’s Sugar Maple Festival were treated to a Bluegrass Boy Reunion show featuring Mike Compton on mandolin. Bluegrass Boys Bob Black, Tom Ewing, Mark Hembree were joined by Mike Compton on mandolin, Paul Kienitz on fiddle and Seth Forester on guitar/vocals. Their show was the highlight of the festival and was a fantastic performance by the boys. The tent was rockin’!

I recently bought a Canon VIXIA HV30 HD camera and schlepped it along to our TITSH show this past weekeind. Long story short, the difference in quality compared to my last camera is HUGE. The differences can’t be as easily detected after YouTube butchers them but the QuickTime files tell the tale…

This past Saturday, (This is the) Squirrel Hunters played our second show at the 4th Annual Brooklyn Bluegrass Festival. The 3rd incarnation of the fest had seen heavy rain on Friday night… and so, not to be outdone, the weather this year decided to take it up a notch and include Tornado conditions. The tornado alarm went off during our opening tune! I myself, having been feeling rather funky all week, and apparently not wanting to be outdone by a little silly weather, decided to have a panic attack during the second song of the set, and nearly provide the audience with a face plant from stage.

But the show must go on… or as Sean would say… “What would Duffy do?”. I managed to remain vertical, hit the tenor parts and with hands shaking, bang out a few solos. Actually, it sounds far better than it had seemed from stage… yeesh.

You can find more TITSH clips on YouTube.

Okay, I have been slacking… but only in regards to updating my blog (and buying a dresser for the lump of cloths on by bedroom floor). I’ve actually been quite busy with my new band (This is the) Squirrel Hunters.

For some time I have known that in order to get my playing to the next level, I need more reps and to be forced into sweating every detail. In other words, I need a band. As luck would have it, I have some good friends who’s playing I enjoy and who all have similar interest in improvement. Thus was born (This is the) Squirrel Hunters.

We recently had our debut… our maiden voyage… our, if you will, debutant ball (oh, and I will)…. The event took place at one of my favorite bars, the Roxbury Tavern. Tom, the owner/proprietor of the Roxbury, showed his TITSH colors by cooking up a fantastic squirrel stew in honor of the occasion!

It was a fine time to be sure. There’s work ‘o plenty still to do but it was a fine beginning. You’re welcome to see for yourself. There are a few videos up on YouTube, as well as a photo sideshow on the band site. Our next show is this weekend at the Brooklyn Bluegrass Festival in Brooklyn, WI.

After 31+ hours of air travel (and just barely making it out of St. Louis), I was able to sleep in my own bed last night. I’d like to thank Mike, the Duffs, and the rest of the boys for putting up with me for the last two weeks and for showing me a fine time!

I may post a bit more media in the near future… or not… either way, here’s some audio of Mike and I playing Squirrel Hunters in lovely Fremantle, Australia.

Last week, at long last, it was decided… it was time to own a fiddle. A luck would have it, eBay was willing to accommodate my decision and lo and behold, my new German fiddle was dropped off at my door. The timing was especially convenient being that it was just before the temp plunged to -9˚, and two days before I leave for Australia for two weeks.

But after about an hour or so of messing around with it, I was disappointed that I’d still not mastered the instrument. I don’t get it… but I’m not giving up. Maybe I’ll have it all down in another hour or so. This will be helpful as I’m planning on taking up Golf soon and giving Tiger a run for his money this year.

For some time now, I’ve been on a pretty strict musical diet of Bluegrass and Old-Time music. The details of which are at best, not necessary to discuss at this time, and at worst, uninteresting. When I do break this mold, it is usually for a classic record from my past (there are quite a few). I digress… I’ve noticed a commercial for a new movie called The Darjeeling Limited. I have no idea what the movie is about and I doubt I’ll care but I’m totally captivated every time the commercial comes on… the reason being it’s soundtrack. It would seem the movie contains at least a few cuts off of one of the greatest records of all time… and it’s one most folks don’t own and have only heard one song off of. The album is the Kink’s Lola versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One.

Sidebar:
I recently bought a house and for the first time since I was 17, I am once again required to mow a lawn. In the past, my old man would bang on my bedroom door, early saturday mornings, so I could get up and pull weeds, or pick up bush trimmings, or cut the grass, or whatever else he had in store for me that day. Thanks to the original Sony Walkman, lawn mowing then, as it does now thanks to Apple’s iPod, included great music. Lola versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, was one of a select few of my favorite grass cutting records.

So anyway, this week, I bought Lola versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, for the third time (album, tape, cd). It came in the mail tonight and I’m listening to it as I type. The record is as great today as it was 20 years ago. Actually, thanks to my copy not being re-mastered, it sounds a lot like I remember my warn out tape sounding… time to buy the re-mastered version (my 4th purchase).

Okay, I’m starting to even bore myself with this post so I’ll be brief. This record is easily in my top records of all time. Top 10? Maybe but I don’t feel like doing the math currently. And you’re probably saying “The Kinks!?!”. Yes, The Kinks. Human beings are know to have moments of brilliance… it’s just unusual that someone has a tape recorder going during them… thus making this recording even more extraordinary!

Here’s one just for fun… This is my Hartford inspired (read: stolen) version of “Bring Your Clothes Back Home”. Not sure where he got it but it’s almost certainly an old Blues/stringband tune. The title may also be “Try Me One More Time”. Not sure. Surely there’s a crusty historian out there who would love nothing better than to shred their larynx berating me for my stupidity on the subject… uncle?

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I woke up feeling extremely funky this morning… I’ve been kinda couch-ridden all day and thus, mando playing. My mando is also feeling kinda funky today. Her strings are crusty and stale. Together in our mutual funks, we produced this odd little version of Evening Prayer Blues. A tune with a loose (extremely loose) lineage of DeFord Bailey to Monroe to Compton and then to me.

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Old Mountaineer is one of those fantastic, yet obscure Monroe tunes. I stole it (like so many things) off of Mike Compton. Interestingly, I learned it off of the bootlegs from a house concert in Madison, WI (before I moved here) and have since become good friends with Bobby and Lori, who had hosted that show. If you don’t have that show, you should… but you can find the tune on Stomp as well.

Sidebar: while I’m on it, I’l throw out a quick rant for bootlegs… Some musicians feel that bootlegs cut into their bottom line and/or don’t care for folks to hear their “off” shows. I understand these opinions and have no problem with it… except that I disagree with them. My favorite shows are live. Live performances offer a true look into a musician. The allow me to hear tunes that they’re working into a set or are playing off the cuff. Mistakes provide more depth in understanding their playing. Eg. how one handles a mistake in music, like in life, tells a lot about folks. Please, please, PLEASE… allow live recordings where applicable. When I listen to your show I will have already bought your records (which is why I’m listening to your live show) or open to checking you out (and if I like you I will almost certainly buy your record). ‘Nuff said…

Okay, rant over…

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QuickTime 7 required.